Kim Jong-un
Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop—Recent Activity on the Sino-DPRK border
As was discussed in-depth nearly precisely a year ago on One Free Korea, the North Korean border with China tends to be a place where memory goes to die. That is to say, when it comes to news reports about the border, a tabula rasa among readers is commonly assumed. Whenever the DPRK’s malignancy needs […]
Hostage Princes and Shadow Reformers: Kim Jong Nam
We recently learned that Kim Jong Nam [金正男], the eldest son of Kim Jong Il, had struck up a friendship with Japanese reporter, Yoji Komi [五味洋治], in the Beijing Capital Airport in 2004 and has corresponded with him frequently since by e-mail. Recently, Kim instructed Yoji to collate all the materials, over 100 e-mails and […]
Historical Allegories and Revolutionary Credentials: Jang Song Taek
Kim Jong Un’s uncle, Jang Song Taek, prevalent in the ongoing discussions about who is wielding power in North Korea, now appears to be building up something of the beginnings of a personality cult himself, or at least, has succeeded in having public recognition of his role in today’s DPRK. The evidence for this assertion […]
Poetry from Pyongyang // 平壤诗歌
Rodong Sinmun yesterday carried a number of foreign language items, as well as a plug (in Korean) for foreign language education in the DPRK. A positive sign? At the very least, an opportunity for two English-language students at Kim Il Sung University to get an important translation on their respective resumes of a collectively-composed poem, […]
Songun, Tangun, Son of Paektu, etc.: Kim Jong Un Documentary
With thanks to Rue89 Chinatown in Paris for the tip, a one-hour special on (North) Korean Central TV about Kim Jong Un and, among other things, his links to the Mount Paektu legend and his military bona fides. Songun policy references abound. The young Kim is, in the eyes of KCNA, nothing less than the […]
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